Family First's Victorian Upper House candidates Bernie Finn and Jane Foreman have called for urgent reforms to ensure young offenders who commit violent crimes face real consequences, after Melbourne was rocked by yet another horrific home invasion.
In Kew East last weekend, a father was stabbed 11 times with a machete in his own home as his wife and two toddlers were forced into another room. Just hours later, another family was terrorised nearby as offenders stole cars from their driveway while they slept. Police have charged two boys aged 16 and 17 alongside a 24-year-old man.
"These are not childish pranks," Mr Finn said. "When a 16-year-old picks up a machete and stabs a father in front of his family, that is an adult crime. And adult crimes demand adult time. Yet our system mollycoddles young thugs while innocent families live in fear."
Ms Foreman said the Allan Government's much-touted "machete bins" program—costing taxpayers more than $13 million—was a cruel joke.
"Labor cut $50 million from the police budget but thinks spending $325,000 on each of 40 so-called 'machete amnesty bins' is going to make families safer. It's an insult. No violent criminal is going to dutifully drop his machete in a bin before heading out to terrorise families," Ms Foreman said.
Family First says the root problem is not the absence of enough bins but the absence of adequate punishment and deterrence.
"Parents across Victoria are sick and tired of excuses. We are seeing a wave of violent home invasions, carjackings, and stabbings carried out by juveniles who know the courts will give them a slap on the wrist," Mr Finn said.
Ms Foreman added: "Every Victorian has the right to be safe in their home. Families should not be left defenceless while the government indulges in tokenistic, headline-grabbing measures. It's time to put victims first, not criminals."
Family First is calling for juvenile justice laws to be overhauled so that repeat violent offenders under 18 face adult penalties.
"As long as violent thugs believe they are untouchable because of their age, the bloodshed will continue," Mr Finn said. "Family First will fight to restore common sense: adult time for adult crime."
